A trip in my car told me Gordon is a driven man
SAYS PAUL HARTLEY
IN October 2005, Paul Hartley provided a spark of genius to light up the Petrol Arena in Celje. His exquisite chip in a fine 3-0 win over Slovenia — the midfielder’s one and only international goal for Scotland — ensured that a World Cup qualification process that had already gone up in smoke at least finished with a bang.
Fast forward 12 years and yet another bid to reach a major finals for the first time since France ’98 is poised to go up in flames, with victory over Slovenia a must at Hampden on Sunday.
For Hartley, though, a glance at the squad announced last week by under-pressure Scotland boss Gordon Strachan for the Group F showdown left the Dundee boss full of optimism.
‘Gordon Strachan is up for it,’ said Hartley, who won two league titles and both domestic cups under Strachan at Celtic. ‘I have had a couple of chats with him over the past couple of weeks and I know he is really excited about the Slovenia game.
‘I took him back down the road from the Aberdeen-Motherwell game to Dundee a couple of weeks ago and he was so excited about the squad he was about to name, and the build-up to these matches.
‘As I know, the manager is at his best when he is on the training pitch. His coaching ability is second to none.
‘We all need to stick by the manager. He is there to see us through the campaign. Gordon, himself, will know if it is time to walk or not. But we have got to get behind him and hopefully we can get the win we all want against Slovenia.
‘It is a big game for us on Sunday and one we need to take the points from. We need to have our best players available.’
A nation of just two million people, Slovenia are ranked 58th by FIFA and qualified for the World Cup in 2010, having previously appeared at Euro 2000 and World Cup 2002.
Scotland, by contrast, are ranked 67th and clinging to the forlorn hope that Russia 2018 will end the nation’s 20-year spell in the footballing wilderness.
But Hartley (pictured) is excited by the fresh faces joining the old ones in Strachan’s squad, including the uncapped trio of Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser, Fulham’s Tom Cairney and on-form Celtic midfielder Stuart Armstrong, who scored his 12th of the season in Celtic’s 2-1 win over Hartley’s Dundee at Dens Park on Sunday. And he admits he will be watching Wednesday’s international friendly with Canada at Easter Road with interest to see if young Fraser is handed a full international bow. The Dundee boss was Aberdeen captain when the teenage winger controversially left Pittodrie for unfashionable Bournemouth in English League One. It was a move that drew criticism, but Fraser has since established himself as an electrifying English Premier League attacker under Eddie Howe. ‘I have looked at the squad that Gordon Strachan has picked for these games and I am really excited about it,’ said Hartley. ‘We have some good young players in there. Sometimes in international football, you have a spell when you have really good players then you try to bring through the next generation. ‘There’s currently Kieran Tierney at Celtic and Ryan Fraser at Bournemouth, who I played with at Aberdeen. ‘Ryan took a massive gamble to go to English League One, but the move has really paid off for him. You can see that by his performances in the Premier League for Bournemouth this season. He has really established himself. ‘You want young players to gain the experience of having 80 to 100 games under their belts. Ryan definitely took a chance, but it has worked out for him. ‘So it’s a good young Scotland squad and hopefully they can get the result we need. The bottom line is we need points.’ Hartley, who was a relative latecomer to the international scene, would love nothing more than to see one of the Class of 2017 emulate him by grabbing a goal against Slovenia. His strike, after Darren Fletcher and James McFadden had made it 2-0 in 2005, remains a career high point for the 25-timescapped former midfielder. ‘I chipped the goalkeeper from 25 yards,’ the 40-year-old smiled. ‘But just to play for my country was an honour. ‘I came on to the international stage at 28, so I was appreciative of every game I played. ‘We have got to get behind the national team this week. Hopefully, they can have a right go and let’s see if we get there.’